We all have our own favourite recipes and easy ways to do things So here are a few of my family's favourites.

MICROWAVE CHOCOLATE CAKE

All in one mix.

6oz soft margarine

4.5oz self raising flour

1.5oz cocoa powder

6oz castor sugar

large eggs

3 tblsp skimmed milk

Prepare a round microwaveable dish with straight vertical sides by greasing it inside and putting a circle of greaseproof paper cut to size at the bottom of the dish. Sieve the flour, sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Break the eggs into a separate bowl or cup and remove any bits of broken shell, gently whisk with a fork. Add the margarine, eggs and the 3 tablespoons of milk to the mixing bowl. Then whisk it all up together, this can be done by hand with a wooden spoon, but that is hard work. It is more preferable to use an electric mixer or beater works best. Empty the mixture into your microwavable dish and place it on top of an upside down microwaveable plate. Cook on full power at 800watts for 8 minutes. (Times to be adjusted for different power settings of microwave oven.) Check whether cooked by piercing the cake with a thin bladed knife, the cake is cooked if the blade is clean when removed. Once cooled the cake can be sliced horizontally to be sandwiched together with butter cream mix or black cherry jam. The top of the cake can be decorated with chocolate butter cream and then sprinkled with icing sugar through a sieve to give a light dusting.